Rebirth of a heritage
by Darkandus
Summary: Kushina had lost almost everything, thankfully because of Minato she still had her life. Now Kushina will dive into her past to gather what she needs to protect what remains of her shattered existence. AU/violence/language/adult themes
1. Chapter 1

It was quite a trying day for Minato. The council was breathing down his neck and his Sensei had been arguing with the Sandaime all day. On the bright side, he was going to be a Father very soon, and the beautiful panoramic windows in his office afforded an excellent view of the massive fox demon laying waste to the village. Minato tilted his head curiously as the oversized fox's maw suddenly dropped open. Judging from the rattle of the reinforced windows and the large quantities of rubble flying about, quite a few of his ninja had just been killed by a god damned roar. Naturally it was all a bit of a shock to the system and he felt his response was quite reasonable. He did after all manage to keep his vocal displeasure down to a low shout.

"Fucking overpowered bitch!"

Fires traced the demon's path, cutting a swath through the forest. Thankfully, the monstrosity hadn't quite reached the walls yet - or rather hadn't reached what was left of them. The smoke from it's passage was unable to escape through the heavy rain clouds, forming a choking lair of acidic smog. Minato sighed as a flash of natural lightning in the distance confirmed the soon-to-be-acid rain. "Marvellous." His deadpan tone hiding the torrent of conflicting emotions. A moment later the thunder joined with his beloved Kushina's screams, prompting a wince of sympathetic pain from Minato.

The soft green glow of medical chakra gave a surreal cast to the room, as a lone medic nin flitted about Kushina. Truthfully, the medic shouldn't have even been there, but after weighing the sheer enormity of the sacrifice his family was going to make for the village, he felt it was fair the village make such a simple gesture as keeping his wife alive. When Sarutobi found out, he had seemingly been of two minds, alternately giving him that patented "I am disappointed" look or smiling at him as if to say the choice was the right way to go.

Minato was many things. Hell, he was a regular renaissance man, or whatever the ninja equivalent was. But he didn't define himself by those talents and skills, because in his humble opinion he felt he was much more than a talented sack of flesh. He was a husband, and he was going to be a father shortly. But on an even more basic level, for better or for worse, he was human, and that meant emotions that you couldn't just slap down while retaining any sense of morality.

He knew how the people would see his son. Their saviour, his legacy, would be a monster to them. They would even hate his own precious Kushina, the mother of the 'beast.' His duties as Hokage, father and husband were...conflicting, to say the least. On an intellectual level, he knew what he had to do to save the village, but, on an emotional level? Well, the boy would at least have his mother.

His wife's cries faded to panting, and she called him to her side. Minato hurried over, taking one of her small, pale hands into his own. They were sweaty, he noted over her laboured breathing.

"What is it, my dearest love?"

Her response was halted every now and then by a low moan of pain but she forged on, despite the discomfort. "I've been thinking, no matter what happens." Kushina's hand tightened around his with enough force to bring tears to his eyes, as a particularly strong contraction rocked her body. "Konoha is going to be weakened. Lots of the higher ranking ninja are going to die, you included." Her hand tightened further, her emotions written plainly on her face. "You're going to have to be replaced by the old goat again."

He waited a moment for her pain to ease before posing the question he knew she was waiting for. "What's your idea, my love?"

"After you seal the beast Konoha will need backup. The answer lies in Uzugakure."

Minato frowned, worried that his wife might be delirious. "Honey…Uzugakure has been destroyed for years."

She fixed him with a stare, a mixture between "Do I look stupid?" and "Are you stupid?" "I know Uzugakure is gone, but lots of it's population escaped. If we reform it they will probably come back. I'll find a country close by to serve as the base then we can set up an alliance once we're strong enough to help protect Konoha. Neither me or Naruto will be hated."

A look of contemplation washed over Minato's face as he shifted slightly to give the med-nin better access. "That…that might just work…"

"You need to get some people you trust together. When the time comes we'll leave the village and start looking for others. Only the Sandaime and Jiraiya can know the truth. Sarutobi can tell everyone that those you sent with me were killed fighting the Kyuubi. Go, we don't have much time to set this up."

Minato ran from the room to find Sarutobi, unwilling to seek him with Hirashin, his need to conserve chakra paramount in his mind. As he was trying to find his predecessor's chakra signal he started thinking about his wife's idea. Theoretically, it was sound but he didn't know if it could actually be accomplished. All he could do was supply her with a few trustworthy people and believe in her judgement. It was probably the only chance of a decent outcome they had. It was certainly the only chance his son and his wife had for a decent future.

* * *

Coming to a stop outside the office, he heard Sarutobi's and his Sensei's voices drift through the door. Opening it and slipping inside, he softly closed the door and sealed the room instantly to prevent prying eyes and ears. Minato thought it somewhat disheartening that even during the greatest crisis in the village's history he still had to guard against spies. Turning around he saw Jiraiya and Sarutobi smoothing out their clothes. Apparently they had been grappling, about to come to blows over some stupid little thing. The two exchanged glances and started shuffling around like guilty children, Minato raised an eyebrow before speaking.

"I'd ask why you were about to start beating the hell out of each other but right now we have more important things to discuss."

Jiraiya spoke up first, his voice still had a bit of an edge to it as he glared sullenly at his own sensei out of the corner of his eye. "And what would that be, Minato? Shouldn't you be with Kushina right now, or have you come to help me tell this old fool that he doesn't have the strength to seal the Kyuubi? If anyone should do it, it should be me. I have the least to lose." His voice a mixture of upset and anger.

The deathly pale Sandaime rolled his eyes. "You still have much of your life to lead, that is why I must do it. I may be sick but I can still seal the damn demon fox, Jiraiya."

"Oh, and you'd be willing to place all of Konoha on a fool's bet? Tsunade must have rubbed off on you more than I expected."

Minato slammed his fist into the wall, shaking the room and sending cracks spidering through the plaster. "GODS DAMN IT, I SAID WE HAVE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS TO DISCUSS!"

Both Jiraiya and Sarutobi froze as Minato's voice echoed throughout the room. Never in all their years had they heard Minato voice sound so full of venom.

His voice resonated until there was naught but a deathly silence. When he spoke again his voice was caustic. "I am going to seal the beast because I am the Hokage and it's MY son who is going to be turned into a DAMN prison. I don't give a FUCK about your petty argument right now. I need your help!"

"You!" he spat, turning towards his Sensei, "Are going to do two things. Firstly, you are going to make up so many stories about what happened here that no-one will know which is right; the only two things that will be consistent with every story is that the demon is dead and Konoha is strong. Then you are going to spread that story over every country you have contacts in. The second thing you are going to do is track down people with safe bloodlines, clans who are unhappy with their current arrangements and people who would make good Shinobi. When the time is right you are going to send the most trustworthy of them to Kushina."

"Why?" he tried to say, but Minato just blanked him as he turned to Sarutobi.  
Minato quickly reigned in his temper, his voice calm but still containing a hint of steel.

"You have to take back your position as Hokage until you can find a decent successor. When you get into office, some Shinobi are going to have disappeared without a trace. You are going to say they are dead. In reality, they are going to be with Kushina and my son, who are also going to be classified dead."

Now both Sarutobi and Jiraiya fixed him with a stare, making it clear that unless he had a very good reason they would do no such thing.

"Kushina had an idea. Uzugakure was destroyed, but most of it's nin are still alive, scattered across the continent. The first part of the plan is going to be finding a decent location before recruiting some of the more prominent unaligned Uzu Shinobi and then she is going to rebuild Uzugakure and side with Konohagakure. That way Konoha has backup while it's weak, and my wife and child will be in positions of respect instead of being hated."

Both men seemed to mull it over. Sarutobi took out his pipe and, after going through the practiced motions of preparation, started puffing on it furiously. The room shook reminding them of the Kyuubi's approach, warning them to think quickly, Jiraiya spoke first, a look of apprehension on his face. "It's a solid idea, I'll give you that. But do you think Kushina can pull it off? Don't get me wrong, she is a smart, capable and powerful woman, but she's hardly leadership material on that kind of scale. To be honest, she's a bit of a hothead and the logistics of setting up even a minor village are pretty damn terrifying."

Minato smiled wistfully. Memories of Kushina's more spectacular social failures running through his mind. "Yeah, she may be a hothead and doesn't really have any practical experience. But she is also my main adviser, strong willed, and has a way of making people believe in her. She can do it. I know she can."

At this Sarutobi spoke up. "How many Shinobi are you going to send? And who for that matter? If you send too many strong ninja Konoha will be weakened. If you send too few and they are too weak, Kushina will be in danger and won't have the foundation needed for this; the new Uzu will collapse before it can begin."

"I was thinking of sending Gekko Hayate, Mitarashi Anko, Shiranui Genma, Morino Ibiki, Uzuki Yuugao and Tenzou."

Jiraiya took the chance to jump in with his assessment of the choices. His voice starting off artificially sweet before devolving into a full on rant. "Oh, that's perfe-ARE YOU INSANE! First of all, six ninja. Six? And not one of them Jonín! And then the ones you picked…you want to send your wife and newborn son out into the world, on a ridiculously dangerous mission, with a barely graduated genin so sick he would be lucky to make twenty; Orochimaru's prized apprentice; a rookie with no apparent skills; a man who is shaping up to be the next head of T&I with all of the psychological abnormalities someone of that position cultivates; a cannon fodder chuunin and one of Orochimaru's abandoned projects?! What the hell are you smoking because I could damn well use some of it."

A sickly smile twisted Minato's face as he regarded the huffing Sennin. "You've gone a little red in the face Sensei. Maybe you should have stopped to breathe in the middle of your rant."

Jiraiya was about to verbally tear Minato a new one. He never got the chance as his student cut in over him. "No, Sensei. I'm intending to send my wife and newborn son out into the world, on a ridiculously dangerous mission, with a Kenjutsu prodigy, a Sannin-trained assassination specialist, a promising all rounder, a psychological specialist, a Chuunin with Jonín level tracking skills and a Bloodline carrier that has the ability to suppress the Demon if something goes wrong when Naruto is older."

"Oh sure, it sounds good when you put it like that but-"

"But nothing, Sensei. The most important thing is they are amongst my most loyal."

"Great, but you still haven't explained why none of them are Jonín and you're only sending six. And if Orochimaru finds out Anko was sent on a mission instead of being dead he is going to be beyond pissed."

"Fine, you want to know why? If any of them find out Naruto is a Jinchūriki

and decide to turn on him, Kushina will be able to destroy them. That's why the numbers are low; that's why there are no Jonín."

He paused for a moment, thinking.

"As for Orochimaru we have all noticed there has been something wrong with him lately. Tsunade is already coming to help deal with the wounded, she can use the loss of his pupil to look into his state of mind with good reason and see what the hell is going on. Especially since his most recent experiments have been getting dangerously close to breaking the law."

At this Sarutobi finally jumped into the conversation, smoke rising from the pipe as he lit it again. "He's right, Jiraiya."

Jiraiya looked to the side, his face set in a frown.

Minato's recently reigned in anger started to crack, revealing the deep sorrow and steel will of a willing sacrifice. His nerves were frayed, making his emotions apparent. "I just… you both have to understand, what other choice do I have?"

Sarutobi tilted his head back, taking in a deep breath and released it slowly. "I wish there was some other way, but I suppose I'm fine with it."

Minato and Sarutobi turned towards Jiraiya, pleading and curious. He ground his teeth at the foolishness, the sheer audacity and the unimaginable and unmistakable gut feeling that it might work.

Sometimes, Jiraiya hated his gut feelings.

"Alright! You don't have to stare at me, I'll do it."

Minato nodded his thanks and set out to round up the Ninja he had chosen.

* * *

The six nin stood in a rough semicircle in front of the Hokage's desk. All of them bar Hayate and Genma were soot stained and wounded, and they only managed to avoid it because none of the genin had to fight yet. However, under the Hokage's orders they appeared before him with enough supplies for an extended black op in a war zone. Minato stood with his back to them as black rain fell and streaked down the newly cracked window.

The window framed the Kyuubi's approach, intimidating the six as they looked past the Hokage and to the beast. A shroud of dark, billowing smoke entwined around it, lit up by lightning, fire and the occasional flash of a powerful Jutsu. Without turning around the Hokage spoke. "The six of you have been chosen for a mission. The very survival of Konoha rests on your shoulders. As such, this mission is S ranked."

The six fidgeted, confused-and some of them fearful-that they would be sent to somehow defeat the Kyuubi. They did not speak this fear. They waited for their Kage's instructions.

"As of today you are no longer officially Konoha nin. In fact, as of today you are officially dead."

The looks of confusion on their faces deepened.

"The Kyuubi's attack on Konoha will leave us weakened and left in a position where we may be taken advantage of or destroyed. We cannot allow that. You are to leave and go wait one hundred and twenty seven miles east of here. You will set up camp at Hana outpost. There should be no-one there. If there is, you are to kill them and dispose of the corpses. There can be no evidence of your existence. You are to maintain that position until someone comes carrying a scroll with my personal seal in blue wax, with the code-word Sora in Blue Kanji embossed on it."

Minato turned around to face them.

"You will ask the question, "Who holds our orders?" The counter will be "Mr. Blue Sky". If they say anything else, you are to kill them. The person who legitimately holds the scroll is your commander on this mission and you will treat them as if they are your Kage. If the person who contacts you isn't the legitimate holder you are to find and reclaim your commander, living or dead. If dead, return to Konoha. If the commander is alive they will carry all the information you require for this mission to be successful. This is a lifelong mission. Ibiki is leader until your commander shows up. It should take them a week at most to get there. Are there any questions?"

Tenzou stood forward. "Will we be receiving reinforcements?"

"Reinforcements are to be procured during the mission. You will be unable to call on any of Konoha's resources unless you manage to succeed in your first major objective."

"We are to procure help from allied villages then?"

"No. Your commander will have the details. They will inform you as and when you need to know."

Yamato stood back in line.

"If that is all?"

Anko, who had been shifting nervously finally stood forward.

"What about Sensei, does he know? Will I be able to contact him?"

Minato took a deep breath.

"I am sorry Anko, you may be able to contact him in the future but not for a few years at least. It is important that you do not as operational security is going to have to be tight. Your loyalty to your sensei is commendable but now you have to show he taught you well and put the interests of all of us before your own. I'm sure he will be very proud of you."

You are dismissed. You have ten minutes to leave the village and be on your way. Good luck."

The six saluted him and left as fast as possible. Minato paused a second before taking off his hat and placing it on his desk. He sat down and wrote a scroll to his son. As soon as it was finished he took off his still shiny and only slightly dented forehead protector. He buffed it on his sleeve before sliding it into a small parcel with the scroll. He took a spare headband from a drawer in his desk and fastened it around his forehead as he left to wait with Kushina.

* * *

After remotely ordering a retreat of his forces, lead by the equally exhausted looking Orochimaru, Hyuuga Hiryuu and Uchiha Yoshiro. He summoned Gamabunta for the last time. He was starting to get sick of that phrase; every "last time" he passed he came closer to his last breath, his last memory, his last look at his son. Oh, his son, his precious beautiful son. The only chance of seeing him again was if something terrible happened. He hated himself for not having the strength to choose another path.

Turning to Gamabunta, he bowed slightly in greeting.  
"So, Bunta, ready to kick ass and take names with me one last time?"

**"You bet kid! Lets make it one for the ages."**

He secured himself to Bunta's head with chakra as the massive toad leapt in to engage the raging beast, slashing at it with his tower sized Tanto and giving Minato time to prepare the hand seals.

As the beast roared, Bunta crossed his arms in front of himself to shield against the chakra infused wind, holding his blade up to defend Minato and his son. The Kyuubi took the opportunity to take a downward swipe at Bunta's face.

The blow was crushing, but Bunta cast all his might into a parry, preventing half his face from being torn off. One of Kyuubi's claws still had the reach to gouge into his face, almost taking out his eye but managing to give him a scar to match the one on the left side of his face. The ground underneath Gamabunta had already cracked and it was starting to buckle under the force of the blow. A few more hits like that and his Tanto would smash, leaving him in a hole large enough to serve as his grave…that was if the Kyuubi didn't eat him after killing him.

**"Hurry up kid, this bastard is far stronger than me. I can't take too many of those hits or I'm dead."**

"Sorry Bunta, I need a few more seconds."

The Kyuubi started drawing chakra towards his mouth, compressing it down. The massive Toad, closest he had ever come to worried, liked to believe he only sounded just the tiniest bit rushed. **"DAMN IT KID, WHEN I SAY HURRY UP I MEAN WE DON'T HAVE A FEW SECONDS!"**

The sheer desperation in Gamabunta's voice made Minato's hands blur with speed.

The beast drew back it's head, light shining between the gaps in it's massive teeth. When it snapped it's head back down it was going to be over. In an act of total desperation Gamabunta thrust forward with his Tanto, nailing shut the Kyuubi's maw as the pressure approached it's maximum. The titanic force proved to be too much for the beast to contain. In a cataclysmic explosion it's head and part of it's upper body exploded, flattening trees for almost a mile and setting those closest on fire.

Just as the pyrotechnics ended, the Shinigami materialized into the Mortal realm. It seized the still formed part of the Kyuubi. Dragging the hind legs and tails into the air and fed it into Naruto, sealing the energy away.

The remnants of the Kyuubi, thrown away in the blast, quickly drew together into a significantly smaller form. Minato, exhausted though he was, tried to cajole the Shinigami into making a lunge for the recovering beast, but his chakra just wasn't enough incentive. The Fox shakily rose to it's feet before stumbling away, disorientated. A string of curses left Minato's mouth as he staggered along the head of the stunned and badly burned Gamabunta. The remains of the toad's massive Tanto still gripped in his bleeding hand. The Shinigami trailed behind Minato. It's hands moved slowly, as inexorably as death, as seals of purple light formed over its upturned hands, sluggishly floating down to attach to Minato's skin.

"Bunta, BUNTA! Get off your lazy Yakuza ass or you're going to make your family a laughing stock."

Bunta's eye's opened seemingly out of sheer annoyance. **"Pah, I still have the energy to kick your disrespectful ass."**

"Then wake the hell up, shrink down, get off your broken up ass and take my son to Kushina. Don't stop for anything and don't let anyone see you." Minato was starting to look paler with every passing second, They both knew his time was up.

**"Yeah, yeah. Even on the brink of death you're a pain. I'm going to miss you kid. Want me to give a message to your girl?"**

Minato placed Naruto onto the waiting tongue of the Toad boss. Taking a moment to caress the child's cheek with his now shaking hand. "Nah, she knows I love her anyway…actually. Tell her that I think she looks prettier with her hair up."

Minato leaned in to give Naruto a kiss on the forehead. As his vision started to go dark he burned the image of Naruto sleeping into his failing mind.

**"Huh?" **Gamabunta started shrinking down to a smaller size until he was about the height of a small house. He gently stored Naruto in his mouth.

"Before all this…I…bought her a…new hair clip… never got the….chance to see her use it..."

Minato stumbled down to the ground, tripping over some exposed and charred roots, spinning, trying to keep his footing. He fell, landing on the charred ground. The rain beat down on his stilling form as the last few seals slid in place.

"Even…if…Naruto… doesn't get…the summoning scroll…look after…him…for me…Bun…ta."

His head slowly dropped to his chest as he grew silent, his soul ripped out of his body and slipped into Gamabunta before finding the flesh of his child.

Bunta stood there, his head down slightly. He really would miss the kid. He would look after this Gaki like he was his own. After he delivered the infant to Kushina, he would have to go have a word with Jiraiya. He'd be damned if the kid didn't sign the summoning scroll. He shrunk down further until he was the size of a horse and hopped off into the darkness.

The Shinigami watched the Toad boss hop off before looking down at the corpse.

"_**What is it with you humans and those ridiculous death speeches? You know there is an afterlife, why can't you just save it until later so I don't have to listen to those stupid 'last words' your kind is so keen on spouting. Look at me, talking to a corpse. Ridiculous."**_

The Shinigami disappeared just as quickly as it had come.

Kushina had hardly given birth twenty minutes earlier when Jiraiya and Sarutobi appeared at her bedside with a bundle of cloth. The medic nin who had been tending to her finished up the last of the treatments, a desperate attempt to make the fatigued woman capable of travel. The med nin turned, before bowing low to Sarutobi as the newly reinstated Hokage giving him permission to start the memory replacement Jutsu. A few seconds later the Med nin collapsed, unconscious. All the important information was erased, being replaced with mundane conversations and the tragic death of Mother and Son.

When the village discovered the death of the Fourth's family, it would become yet another reason to mourn, but better that than many of the possible alternatives.

Kushina's voice was heartbreaking, cracking as she kept her composure as rigid as she could. "So…the Jutsu worked as Minato thought it would?"

Jiraiya looked down, his face full of pain. His normal, cheerfully perverted personality completely submerged. "Yeah…his soul is in Naruto, guarding the seal. He is partially aware but he can't do anything unless something goes wrong, and even then it will probably only be a once off thing. The soul can only affect so much when outside of the body before it gets taken to wherever they go. At least he wasn't eaten by the Shinigami. The kid was too good for that fate."

Kushina held out her arms as Sarutobi gently passed the child to her.

"I know this is hard for you Kushina, but you must understand that Naruto isn't Minato, in the exact same way as he isn't the Kyuubi. If you treat him like he is the former, it will destroy him just as surely as the villagers treating him as the latter."

Kushina's eyes met his and he felt as if his soul would shatter. The barely suppressed pain in them hurt more than the sharpest Kunai.

"I know Sarutobi-Sama. He is Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto. Son of Namikaze Minato, he is my son. That is more than enough."

Jiraiya passed her a backpack full of storage scrolls before running through what each one contained that was necessary for the journey. He eventually got through the entire list before taking a pot of ink and a brush out of an inside pocket. After asking Kushina's permission, he sketched a seal onto the forehead of the sleeping child.

"This seal will last at most seven days. It will silence his cries after a two feet perimeter so you can hear him, but no-one else will unless they get so close it won't matter anyway. It also lets sound in, so you won't have to worry about not hearing incoming people. It has the added effect of shielding him from any fast approaching object, but that will need to be charged with your own Chakra. It's a rush job so it also drains Chakra at an incredible rate. It would leave me dead or unconscious after five or six uses, in your current condition you could use it twice, and maybe push five at full health. Any more and you will die. Only use it as a last resort."

Kushina nodded numbly as she got up from the bed with Naruto in her arms. After reluctantly passing the child to Sarutobi, she went behind a lone medical screen to get dressed properly. After putting on her combat gear she threw on her flak jacket, zipping it up before grabbing the back pack Jiraiya had given her. She swung it onto her shoulders before fastening on her usual leg and hip pouches. When she came out she stood before them, looking lost. She took Naruto back into her arms, her eyes becoming somewhat more focused. She paused a moment before finally nodding and leaving to slip out of the village.

Sarutobi's sigh was easy to interpret as he went up to the roof with Jiriya to make the announcements to the gathering nin. "I hope we did the right thing by sending them away."

Judging from the roars of pain and hatred that encompassed the village, it seemed they had.

* * *

Kushina had covered sixty seven miles in three days. It was a laughable pace for a ninja, but it was to be expected. She was still making remarkable speed for her condition. Over and over again in a low whisper she chanted the words that were driving her; that were stopping her from crumpling to her knees and crying herself to death. Her mouth felt dry. She would have to drink soon. Naruto would wake in an hour or so and he would need to feed too.

"Doing it for Naruto, doing it for Naruto, doing it for Naruto, doing it for Naruto, doing it for Naruto, doing it for Naruto."

Three days…she held him as tightly as she dared. Nothing would take him away. Nothing.

* * *

On the afternoon of the seventh day, she finally came within a few hundred yards of where the outpost should be. She stopped, before using a Jutsu to camouflage herself and Naruto completely. After a few seconds, she made a Kage Bunshin. She ordered it forward to scope the place out. As it went to leave, it stopped and looked down at it's arms, moving them uselessly as if to hold a Naruto it didn't have. She would not let a Bunshin have him, even if it only held a copy. The Bunshin turned back and reached out pleadingly towards the real Naruto, a dead look in it's eyes, before Kushina compelled it to leave. Tears rolled down the face of the Bunshin Kushina as it was rebuked; it's eyes rapidly becoming totally devoid of life. It turned mechanically and left to accomplish it's mission.

After a few minutes, she received the information from the dispersed clone. She ruthlessly crushed the terrible and profound feeling of loss the Kage Bunshin had been experiencing before it's mind broke. That done, she began sifting through the recent knowledge she had gained.

The first piece of important information she retrieved was the location of the building. A squat, thick slab of tan rock, It's upper floor narrower than it's bottom floor by a considerable amount. The walls enclosing the roof and second floor were coated liberally in spikes to prevent people climbing over it or hiding against it. The rock that made up the building itself looked to be the regular Konoha outpost affair which meant seal-n- steel reinforced. The outpost would undoubtedly also have the regular outer seal defences.

As for the shinobi component of the outpost, Anko had probably been guarding the door. she couldn't tell for sure because of the extremely skilled application of a middle ranking camouflage Jutsu that took the clone a few seconds of concentrated observation to confirm. A minute after that "Anko" had changed guards with Hayate. His attempt at hiding was using Henge after he had taken up position. It would have been a relatively good showing were it not for the fact that he became a bush in an area that had been obviously cleared for line of sight, after waltzing out like it was a day at the park. If it was an enemy masquerading as the genin, they were very skilled at their job of showing an almost naïve level of ability.

After that the clone went around the perimeter of the forest looking out for other guards she could possibly identify. She stopped halfway around when she spotted someone stalking across the roof. It wasn't as good a job as "Anko" but still impressive in it's own right. Probably Yuugao. Tracking specialists were inevitably skilled in hiding, as not only did you have to hide from who you were hunting, you had to think like someone who was being stalked by enemies.

Somewhat satisfied, Kushina created another Kage Bunshin. She destroyed it's awareness before it even formed, linking up her senses to it's own to use it as a puppet. The Shini Bunshin reached down into one of Kushina's hip pouches. Withdrawing the confirmation scroll Minato had written, for the smallest of moments a spark of life seemed to appear in it's eyes, gone before it could truly exist. It turned and trudged wearily to a few feet away from the tree line, hidden partially behind some bushes and a fallen log. The Bunshin quickly pulled up a face mask before tying up it's hair and covering it with a bandana. It would be unwise to let them know who she was straight off the bat. Using the medium of the Kage Bunshin, Kushina made a quick series of birdcalls that even a genin like Hayate would know meant "Friendly approaching, do not attack."

The 'bush' rustled a little bit as Hayate probably reached for a kunai and his black-ops headset. An intense heat shimmer came into existence for a second as the bases defences were activated. The door set into the rock swung open as a bear of a teenager, bigger than most grown men, cautiously stepped out. Ibiki, if she wasn't mistaken. He stood with apparent disdain but to a trained eye he was ready to move or attack in any direction. The Kushina Bunshin slowly slid out from behind her concealment, both hands out to the side.

"Don't move. Just say yes or no. Do you have it?"

"Yes."

"Reach for it, slowly, and without any sudden movements show me the seal and the Kanji."

Kushina slowly turned the scroll to show the Blue seal and the silver Sora Kanji.

"Who holds our orders."

"Mr blue sky."

"Okay, now unseal it."

With a quick application of chakra, the seal unlocked and Kushina held it at the ready.

"Toss it over."

She threw it underhand, its lazy arc terminating as it struck the heat shimmer where it slowed and stopped as if stuck in a web. Ibiki reached forward easily, grabbing it, before having to exert visible strain to pull his arm back through the barrier. He seemed to examine the scroll before scanning it with chakra. He pulled the scroll open slowly, suspicious of any traps that might catch him off guard and send him to an early grave. If there was enough of him left to bury. After a few seconds of not turning into a red mist, he seemed to relax ever so slightly.

"It's legitimate. Welcome to Fort Hana, Commander, although I am curious why it took you so long to get here. We were worried you had been intercepted."

Kushina did not move, she did however speak up. "There is an assassination specialist among you, what is her Sensei's lucky charm?"

Ibiki looked confused for a second before using his radio and whispering into it, after a few seconds he nodded. "The skin of a white snake."

Kushina began to walk forward, appeased.

"Thank you, Morino-san. If you would, escort me around the facility. We will be here for a number of days before we can move. Afterwards, I want to get settled in for an hour, then everyone will have to report for briefing."

As the barrier deactivated, she walked past Ibiki, before stopping.

"For future reference, you need to work on your stealth skills Gekko-San. A performance such as yours will lead to a fast death. This is a mission, not a picnic."

The clone walked on.

* * *

Ibiki, Anko, Yuugao and Genma were dispersed across the spacious living space. It was large enough for twenty people and it's furnishings were comfortable enough. Anko and Ibiki were playing cards at a table while Yuugao paced anxiously around the room. Genma sat on a sofa on the other side of the room, flicking through a magazine on musical instruments. An assorted pile of magazines lay on the coffee table across from him.

Everyone was agitated to one degree or another. No-one knew who their Commander was or what they looked like. All they could tell was she was female. Not knowing about someone was a hazardous business for a shinobi.

After another round of pacing on the part of Yuugao, Anko started tapping her foot in exasperation. The rookie Chuunin's pacing was annoying as hell and Anko had already been pissed for days, she missed her sensei terribly. Then the commander bitch just shows up well after she should have and locks herself in a room after going through a tour of the place without saying a word. Just as she was about to tear into the Chuunín, Genma threw his magazine down. Then he stood up and grabbed the girl, pulling her out her out of the room. Surprised, Anko turned her head to Ibiki, one of her eyebrows raised.

"A bit forward wasn't he? I'm surprised she didn't punch him out for dragging her off."

Ibiki grinned at her. "You don't realise how much killing intent you were releasing, do you? You had shocked her into a cycle. I was just wondering if the kid would make it before you got up. Considering he was a step away from pissing his pants, I'm surprised he managed it at all. Good thing you weren't angry at him."

"Shit. I was making her pace? For how long?"

"About thirty minutes."

"And you didn't tell me?"

Another smirk from Ibiki. "A man needs entertainment."

"Scarred bastard."

"Snake bitch."

"Heh, I love you too Ibiki-tan."

"…I'm going to wake up with snakes in my bed again, aren't I?"

"Pfft, they were harmless. Besides, if you win this hand you might just find a pretty purple haired snake in your bed."

"Manda has a human form?"

Anko grimaced slightly at the thought before smiling again. It was relaxing joking with someone who wasn't high strung enough to take everything seriously.

"Virgin."

"Cock tease."

"Torture freak."

"Whore in training."

"I do love it when you talk dirty to me, Ibiki-tan."

"Hurry up and deal the cards, and no cheating this time. I'm still not happy about buying you that crate of Dango and finding out you screwed me over after you finished the whole thing. You didn't even share."

Anko grinned as she started tossing out the cards.

Ibiki grinned back. As long as his friend wasn't thinking about her sensei and was happy, he was happy, and less likely to be pranked.

* * *

The Kage Bunshin proxy had calmed down enough to think objectively for a while. She needed to confirm whether or not any of her forces would freak out about her son being a Jinchūriki. She would have to be prepared to kill all of them if they reacted badly. She had already filled the place with camouflaged explosive notes. If they reacted negatively, shadow proxy activates them and boom, no more problem on that front. The only…difficulty was it would create a whole new array of problems.

The thought of killing some of the younger ex-Konoha ninja's made her feel sick, but no-one was more important than Naruto. He was all she really had left now. Even if she started to rebuild her life it would mean nothing without him.

Sighing, she called all the ninja in, replacing those on guard with two of her own Kage Bunshins. After the six assembled before her, she calmly cleared her throat and began.

"Do you trust the Fourth?"

A series of confused nods greeted her question.

"Completely? With your very lives and every ounce of your beings?"

A variety of positive answers poured forth from the nin's mouths, confusion and apprehension in their tones.

"Do you trust him enough to believe whatever he did was enough to prevent the Kyuubi from harming us ever again? That anything he did would be enough to protect everyone?"

Tired and upset, Anko shouted, "Of course we do you stupid bitch, he's probably the only person who's never fucked anyone around. He wouldn't deliberately put us in danger."

Her mask hid it, but Kushina had a small smile at the brash Kunoichi's response. She turned a baleful glare at everyone else.

"And do you all feel the same as this girl?"

Each of them nodded without hesitation.

"What if I told you the Kyuubi's alive and the Fourth is dead."

Everyone froze, not even their hearts seemed to beat.

"That's…so Konoha…it's gone? Everyone is dead?" Tenzou had been the first to break the silence, his question had the others staring at him in disbelief before turning to Kushina for confirmation.

Now this, this would be where things got tricky.

"Fortunately not. Konoha is lucky enough that it had two heroes protecting it during the final fight."

Genma was the first to respond, confusion in his voice, "Who? Jiraiya?"

Kushina was wary, things were going well so far but anything could happen when she dropped the bombshell. "Before I tell you, you have to understand something. What I will tell you is the greatest secret you will ever hear in your entire lives. If you betray it I will end you, even if I have to spend the rest of my life hunting you down. If you want you can leave now. But you will never be able to come back."

The six stood steadfast in their resolve.

"The second hero was the son of the fourth Hokage."

All but Ibiki and Genma stood dumbfounded, Genma stood silently for a moment before he started yelling in disbelief. "But that's impossible! His son couldn't possibly be more than a baby!"

Ibiki however went white in the face. "Jinchūriki. The Power of Human sacrifice."

Kushina regarded the man warily before seeing if anyone else picked up on the implications.

"You are correct, Morino-san. The Kyuubi was sealed into the son of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina. I am not entirely aware of the mechanics of the seal , but what I do know is the child's mind is completely unaffected by the demon."

Yuugao was the first to break the renewed bout of silence. "How did Konoha react?"

"How do you think they would react? Angry? Hurt? looking for someone to blame? Any child in that position would be no more than a target for their hate."

"Then…then we've got to go back! We can't just leave him like that, he's a hero!"

_'Ah, the shining fervour in her eyes. Perhaps she can be trusted.'_

"And how do the rest of you feel about protecting the child?"

A flurry of approval met Kushina's question and despite all her concentration she couldn't detect any malice towards Naruto. She had reached the end of the game and had to play her hand.

"Your approval is good. As you all feel this way, I am glad to tell you that we will not need to return to Konoha to rescue the child, as he is outside the bunker."

Six pairs of eyes locked on her own as she smiled to herself in satisfaction. She gave them a moment to let the implications sink in, waiting for one of them to react first. Surprisingly, the first to break the silence was the as of yet remarkably quiet young Genin Hayate, who broke into a coughing fit strong enough to bring an unhealthy looking crimson to his pallid face. Genma lightly struck the back of the coughing Genin as Ibiki handed the boy a canteen.

"So I take it no-one has questions?"

Anko finally found her voice and started swearing profusely. Yuugao still seemed dazed, which left Tenzou to ask the relevant questions.  
"If I might ask, commander-san, who are you, why do you have the child and what exactly is our mission?"

With that, the Kushina clone removed her bandanna and mask startling everyone in the room. "K-Kushina-Sama?"

"I suppose this answers your first two questions, Tenzou-san. As for the last, our objective is to reform Uzugakure and align it with Konoha. Fortunately, this will be easier than it could be. I'm roughly on par with the Sannin and my family was well liked in Uzu. Konoha and Uzu also had pretty good relations when Uzu was still up and running. We need to draw some of the stronger Uzu nin to us to form a group the lesser Uzu nin will rally to. But I'm getting ahead of myself. First we need to decide on a good location for the village and take time to plan out our actions, so we're going to be here for a few days. We have about a week before a Konoha patrol sweeps by to make sure this outpost hasn't been taken over and secure it again. We'll leave in four days just to be sure we aren't spotted. Any more questions?

Kushina waited a few seconds as they stood in stunned silence before ushering them out the door. And with that the clone dispersed. Kushina's real body sat still in the tree line as her consciousness slowly started to become whole again. After twenty seconds, she managed to regain her feet, calming the fidgeting Naruto with a few soft words as she ran her fingers through his hair, before making another few Kage Bunshin as a body guard. Things might seem to be going well with the six under her command, but trust was only given away by fools. The clones were now less insistent on having Naruto's of their own; the need to protect the real one overriding the need to feel the comfort of having fake, lifeless, copies in their arms.

The group of Kushina's entered the bunker, hoping that things would work out.

* * *

It had been three days since Kushina had come to the Outpost. The only time any of her ninja saw her was brief glimpses as she sent out a few Kage Bunshin to replace the ones on watch, or to fetch things for her. She had locked herself away from the group. Everyone but Yuugao felt a foreboding whenever they went near the door. Yuugao herself had always admired Kushina, even being on speaking terms with the woman and her Husband. It broke her heart to see the loud, proud and strong Kunoichi seemingly shattered by this disaster. Every day she went to the door, knocking on it to remind the Kunoichi that even though she fed Naruto she would have to eat as well; reminding her to sleep; To drink water lest she get dehydrated. The once cheerful woman would send out a Kage Bunshin to bring back whatever Yuugao reminded her of, but after talking to them on the first day she didn't say a word.

Yuugao, worried, went to Ibiki for his opinion.

Sitting down next to the teenager on a couch, she spoke of her worries, the young man only nodding every now and then to show he was paying attention while he flicked through a gardening magazine that was two seasons out of date.

"Don't push her Yuugao-san, She fears us."  
"What are you talking about, Ibiki-san? Kushina-san has never been afraid of anything."

Ibiki could only roll his eyes. "Not for herself, she knows her limits and they far exceed ours, but she is afraid for her child. Think about what she said earlier, if the truth about Naruto-san hadn't been revealed in the way it was things might have gone differently. With such temperamental creatures as humans it is best to take a cautious approach. She could kill all six of us easier than you would ever believe, and she is completely prepared to do so. Don't force her hand or you just might find a Kunai in your ribs."

Sighing, the man closed the magazine before looking at her, placing the magazine down beside himself.

"Personally, I can understand where she is coming from. If it were my child that had become Jinchūriki I wouldn't trust any of you either, especially not if it held the Kyuubi so soon after the destruction. Frankly, leaving Konoha was probably the smartest thing she could have done to protect Naruto. Just give her some time to calm down and relax before you do anything stupid."

Yuugao understood where he was coming from, but she didn't have to like it, and she made her opinion known. "But it's not healthy for her or the baby to be cooped up in that room all the time. I haven't even seen her leave to use the toilet."

Ibiki leaned back into the couch, lacing his fingers together.

"Firstly, there are Jutsu to dispose of human waste, which quite frankly I'm surprised you don't know about. Secondly, it might surprise you to know that pretty much everything you have come to care about and rely on being taken away from you is a devastating occurrence. It might also surprise you that when something like this happens to a person, they will generally become extremely protective and violent if they perceive anything they care about to be threatened."

Ibiki's voice took on a lecturing tone as he leaned forward tossing the closed magazine onto the table.

"In this case, try and visualise what would happen if this was combined with someone who cared about something that would usually be readily discriminated against. Imagine that person, who cares about something that was almost guaranteed to be universally hated, had the power to close her hand around your skull and crush it like an egg faster than your comparatively feeble chuunin level chakra enhanced brain could comprehend."

After sighing Ibiki stopped for a moment, rubbing the bridge of his nose before continuing.

"There is little doubt in my mind that she would have killed any one of us but you if we had shown as much interest as you have at this point. She trusts you, to an extent, because of your pre existing relationship. Probably everyone else from Konoha is an enemy until proven otherwise. As I said before, you can push further than anyone here, but don't push too far until she's ready or you have an exceptionally good reason. Unless you want to be handed your still-beating heart?"

Yuugao grimaced for a moment before speaking.

"I have to say, you and Anko-san are taking this very well, the others are nervous."

Ibiki's mouth twitched up at the corner as he considered his answer.

"Well, there is a simple reason for that. Panicking in this situation would probably be detrimental to my life expectancy. As for Anko-Chan, she's calm because she's already prepared to die and has planned several ways to try kill Kushina-san."

"WHAT!"

Yuugao slapped her hands over her mouth before looking around and leaning in closer to Ibiki, her voice coming out in a harsh whisper.

"What do you mean she's planned to kill Kushina-san?!"

"Firstly, Anko has a plan to kill everybody, she says it's bad business not to when you're an assassin. Secondly-"

Suddenly, a pair of arms and a dozen snakes wrapped around Yuugao, before a breathy, playful voice spoke softly right next to her ear.

"What's this Ibiki-Kun, telling tales?"

Anko's breath tickled Yuugao's ear, making her twitch away. Anko, noticing, moved in to playfully lick it before biting down on it rather painfully.

"Be careful what you go around asking people, some don't like their secrets getting out."

Releasing Yuugao's ear, she stood up to her full height. Placing her hands on Yuugao's shoulders, she glared down at Ibiki, practically snarling, her grip and the snakes tightened painfully on Yuugao.

"And as for you!"

Her glare turned into a sadistic smile as she leaned towards him, giving Ibiki an eyeful as she spoke in a mock whisper.

"I wouldn't go around gossiping like a woman unless you want to lose what makes you a man."

Ibiki flashed one of his trademark smirks.

"Wouldn't dream of it Anko. tell me, how did the Dango turn out after?"

Anko suddenly started beaming.

"Oh, they didn't stock the kitchen with all the ingredients to make really awesome ones, but they were still pretty damn good!"

Twitching in pain and quite intimidated, Yuugao's voice was barely above a whisper. "Eh, can you please let me go Anko-san?"

Anko looked down, surprise all over her face as if she completely forgot Yuugao was there. To Yuugao's immense relief she released her grip and the snakes before shrugging nonchalantly. Ibiki's eyes concentrated on the interesting movement of her developing assets just like Anko had planned.

"Window shopping, Ibiki?"

"Yes, I want to make sure the product is up to scratch."

Slowly parting her trench coat she cupped her breasts through her white, low cut v-neck, showing slightly more than the outfit normally allowed, Anko leaned forward more, taking on the most seductive voice a fifteen year old could pull off.

"Mmm, you can't buy quality like this, I-bi-ki Kuuuun."

"Sorry Anko, if you're trying to get a raise out of me you're going to have to work harder at your seduction. As…impossible as it seems, I'm used to your usual weaponry."

Noticing Yuugao was still twitching in the chair Ibiki turned a concerned eye to her.

"Something the matter Yuugao-San?"

"I…think something…cracked."

"Ah, well that tends to happen when Anko is involved. It is a stroke of luck, though. Kushina-San is the only one here with the skill to set bones with Chakra, and you're concerned with her sanity. Just go up, tell her something is broken and if she doesn't hand you your liver the second you walk through the door, you can inquire about her and Naruto. Subtly, of course. You don't want to annoy her when she has her hands anywhere near your neck or ribs."

"Em, thanks for reassuring me?"

"No thanks required, Yuugao-San."

"I'd like some thanks!"

"Sit down Anko, you broke some of her bones."

After Yuugao got up, Anko slumped down on in her place, pretending to pout as a grin was threatening to break out on her face.

Genma, leaning against a wall where he had been reading a magazine just stared, shaking his head.

"Everyone in this place is insane."

"I heard that, Genin! And it's not insanity, it's sexual tension and friendly rivalry!"

"Keep telling yourself that, Anko-Chan. Maybe you'll convince yourself some day."

"Shut it, Ibiki. It's not my fault she was too scared to reinforce her bones with chakra."

"Well actually it is."

"God damn it Ibiki!"

"Just telling it like it is."

"Shut up."

"No"

"Damn it!"

"Damn what?"

"ARRRGH! YOU'RE SO IMMATURE!"

Ibiki smiled. With the way things were going Anko wouldn't spend half the night whimpering into her pillow. Her Sensei really meant the world to her.

* * *

Jiraiya was sitting at his desk, shuffling through papers destined for his many contacts around the continent. He was brought out of his concentration at a sudden banging on his door. Looking up, he opened a drawer before stuffing the papers away. He slowly stood before walking through his house, the banging continuing incessantly. He opened the heavy wooden door to find something he never expected. Orochimaru, his hair, clothes and skin soaked from the pounding rain, a lost look in his eyes the likes of which Jiraiya had never seen before on his friend. He was so stunned he completely missed what Orochimaru said.

"Sorry? What was that?"

Orochimaru's guttural voice sounded even hoarser than usual.

"Can…can I come in?"

Stunned yet again Jiraiya blinked as he just processed what Orochimaru said, suddenly he snapped back to reality and quickly stood to the side before waving Orochimaru in. He dithered around for a few moments before going in search of a towel.

"I must say it's unusual for you to be the one to visit me Orochimaru. Especially recently with all your research. I understand the results have been pretty bad so you've had to lay low, especially after the Mokuton bloodline disaster, but I hardly expected you to arrive in the middle of the night in lashing rain."

He finally grabbed a towel out of a press before grabbing some of his secret stash he didn't want Tsunade getting her hands on when she came back. Stopping briefly at a cabinet he grabbed two Sake dishes before walking into the main living space. Orochimaru stood there, dripping water on the carpet, Jiraiya finally noticed something in the Snake Sannin's hand.

A death certificate.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer:I own things. Naruto, however, is not one of them.

* * *

Dark clouds covered the night sky as a slight breeze whispered through a sizable grove of thin grey trees. They were unusual in Fire Country which was justly famed for the truly massive trees that covered the country from one end to the other. These trees were survivors of a time before the Shodai's rise to power as the first Hokage, spared only due to their location on the slopes of a mountain range. A slow grinding and the occasional crash of a tree falling was the only sound to accompany the soft murmurs of leaves in the wind. Even though it was one of the last viable habitats for many of the original native creatures of Fire Country no animal was brave enough to venture up this particular mountain.

The remnants of the Kyuubi such as they were, transparent and wraithlike and in great pain and confusion, dragged itself ever closer to the massive entrance of a cave. It left a great trail of destruction in its wake as the beast hauled itself to the seat of its power. If It could just reach the entrance the pain would stop, It would have time to think, time to decide how to destroy whatever had done this to the force of nature known as Kyuubi. Ambient wisps of blood red chakra floated gently out of the cave as the beast drew closer, strengthening Its wavering form. Bolstered, the dread creature redoubled Its efforts until finally, it reached the edge of the cave.

Now, with barely enough energy to stand it nuzzled against the walls desperately, dragging itself back and forth against the rock face and absorbing the ambient remnants of Chakra in great strands which turned to streams and finally torrents. Red light shone in every crack and crevice of the cave as the corrosive energy was dragged from the walls. The light flooded through the massive cave from one end to the other, shaking rocks loose and causing several thundering cave-ins further along in the deep tunnels. The flowing power increasing in pace with Kyuubi's returning strength. The Chakra flow abruptly stopped without warning, plunging the Cave into twilight, barely lit by the renewed form of the Kyuubi, now solid.

It didn't know how to react, who to blame, who to kill. All of its recent memories were jumbled fragments. It was just so confusing, so it settled on something it definitely did know. It was small. Really small, if it had to estimate it was barely a third of its original size. It reacted in the only way it could. It exploded into a rage, the rock surrounding it instantly vaporized, the stone beyond that began glowing white hot as the stalactites closest to it dripped in large molten chunks to the ground. Someone was going to die for this, they were going to die.

It began furiously ripping through and seizing on jumbled and confused memories.

_**'The Sage of the Six Paths? No. He has been dead for centuries. The Hachibi? No. The Shodaime? No. The Uchi- THE UCHIHA! THE UCHIHA AND THEIR THRICE DAMNED MANGEKYO SHARINGAN!'**_

In a rage it trashed around, lashing massive gouges into the side of the cave. After a few moments the Kyuubi forced itself to be calm, to think. But it was still confused and angry, so very angry.

_**'But that wouldn't be enough, not even the Sharingan could steal Chakra. What happened? The Madara appeared and then…then…caught me in an illusion? Yes, caught me in an illusion, made me angry, made me FURIOUS! And I…I…rampaged? Yes, I rampaged to that pathetic Human settlement with their so called warriors. And then what?'**_

The Kyuubi brought one of its paws to its head. It still hurt. It hurt so much.

_**'There was….a frog, or a Toad, or something. And I managed to calm down enough to compress my chakra down to destroy it…but I…left myself open? And…it forced my mouth shut! Yes, with its blade! But, even if that made me blow apart why did I not reform fully? The Hachibi blew a leg off with a lucky shot before and I reformed perfectly then.'**_

A constant agonizing throb raced through Its head again and again, Kyuubi curled up into a ball wrapping it's tails around itself and clutching it's head.

_**'The damn Mangekyo, it's still affecting me! The Madara is going to die for this! Hells! The entire UCHIHA WILL DIE FOR THIS! Argh! It hurts…'**_

The Kyuubi curled up tighter still.

* * *

Orochimaru closed the door behind him as he walked into the cloudy night. He had to hurry, the village would be waking up soon, and he had to get out by then, especially in his current state after his visit with Jiraiya.

His destiny awaited him in the Forest of Death after all, and he couldn't afford to be spotted before he had finished.

The streets of Konoha were dark, lit solely by the dim light of the moon. The only people awake at this time were the Anbu and the Military Police. Failure was not an option. He refused to get caught.

* * *

Kushina pored over the maps Jiraiya had supplied her with. Somehow the wily bastard had kept tabs on dozens of ex Uzu nin and even managed to mark down half a dozen suitable places for a village. But none of them were good enough. None of them were right! She flung the half rolled up map as hard as she could, disgust curling her lip, before hearing a strangled cry. Looking up suddenly with a Kunai in hand she realised the metal pole the map was wrapped around was stuck halfway through the open door, Yuugao's now bone white face peering around the corner.

"I'll come back at a better time Kushina-Sama."

Her shocked whisper barely reached Kushina's ears as the woman berated herself. Both for not noticing the door was opening and for not managing to actually put the scroll through the door, although after she thought about it, it was probably better that she didn't in this particular case. Amazingly Naruto just continued to wiggle around in his padded basket, burbling and smiling. Such a good boy.

"Stop. You're here now. What is it?"

Yuugao's eyes darted right and left, looking for an escape, just as it was taken away from her.

"Close the door and tell me what you want."

Kushina's voice was cold and unforgiving, her pent up emotions and frustration carefully suppressed but still apparent.

Yuugao closed the door softly before staring at the rod for a second. She looked fearfully up at Kushina as she shifted from foot to foot. Ibiki's warnings continuously flashing through her mind.

"I think I may have cracked a rib," she said.

"How?"

The girl looked to the side before speaking,

"Em, Anko."

Kushina's jaw clenched, Yuugao could have truthfully swore she heard teeth cracking.

Kushina surged to her feet, knocking her chair back with a clatter.

"Fighting at such a time is completely irresponsible-"

Yuugao took a step back, her hands held in front of her as her eyes went wide.

"WAIT! Wait! We weren't fighting, it was an accident! Don't rip out my liver!"

The fear in the girl's eyes took Kushina aback. What the hell was she doing?! She knew this girl, and instead of helping her she was interrogating her? She sighed to herself, everything was wrong, everything was falling to pieces, she had to control herself, and pretend that everything was o.k.

Wait.

'…Did she tell me not to rip out her liver? Huh…'

Kushina waved the girl forward and managed to inject a mildly apologetic tone into her voice.

"Forget about it, come over here and take your Flak jacket off. You're favouring your right side and keeping your arm raised so I'd say she managed to break one under your armpit."

The girl hesitantly walked over to the desk, sitting down on the edge of it where Kushina motioned with her hand. As she sat Yuugao took off her Chuunin vest before removing her top, she held her arms up as Kushina delicately rolled up her plain t-shirt and Ninja mesh, showing a clear angry and swollen mark a few inches below her armpit.

"Relax for a second; I'm not the best at scanning techniques so I'm going to have to feel for the break myself. Tell me where it hurts most."

Kushina pushed the fingers a few centimetres into the swollen area and slowly moved across the bruise. Stopping at Yuugao's sudden sharp cry.

"Well I suppose that's as good a way to tell me as any, eh?"

The lame attempt at humor was met only by tears and a slight whimper, curious Kushina decided to question the girl.

"Have you never had a broken bone before or something? This is a pretty small break."

"Low pain threshold. It's why I'm a Tracker. I don't really do much fighting. I just guide the people who do."

"I see, we'll have to work on that. I won't have anyone on my team that can't fight."

Yuugao leapt in surprise as, without warning, Kushina jabbed her fingers in, pushing the bone back into position. Yuugao's back arched in agony as she pounded the table with her fist, skinning her knuckles as the thick wood finally cracked as she put her fist through it. Only then did she manage a blood curdling shriek.

"Well that must not have been fun."

Pounding feet approached from both ends of the corridor before the door burst open. Genma barrelled through first followed closely by Anko and finally Ibiki who seemingly was the only one to actually have the intelligence to look into the room before entering. Yuugao locked eyes with Ibiki before letting out a pitiful moan.

"You said she could set bones with Chakra."

There was complete and utter silence for a few moments, until Anko burst into resounding peals of laughter. Genma left shortly afterwards, with a role of his eyes, complaining about "getting worried over nothing." Ibiki simply smirked before dragging Anko away with him, stopping briefly to admire the map impaled through the door.

Kushina grimaced at the hole in the table before covering it with a paperweight. She made a mental note that Ibiki had scanned the map when he had the chance. He certainly was a clever one.

"Ibiki is right about me being able to set bones with Chakra. They just have to be in the right position first. I kinda suck at the medical arts."

Grabbing a handkerchief, she dabbed at Yuugao's tear stained, pale face. She smirked slightly when Yuugao snatched it out of her hand, getting blood on it as it rubbed off her knuckles

"I'm not going to heal your hand for you… idiot, who punches a table? What a waste."

An uncomfortable silence set in as Yuugao stared at the wall, seemingly in thought. After a few moments she began to talk, running a finger over small, charred, multicoloured stones sewn into her flak jacket, she nodded after touching each one and when seemingly satisfied she finally spoke.

"Mr. Blue Sky? Seriously?"

Kushina couldn't resist cupping her face in one of her hands.

"Don't remind me. He always came up with the worst passwords ever."

Yuugao snorted.

"You don't have to tell me, I knew him for long enough."  
Kushina smiled wistfully as Yuugao turned to face her.

"You're not alone, Kushina-Sama. We all lost people. You can't just hole up in here alone with little Naruto forever."

Kushina's response was clipped as her face became blank.

"Of course I can't. We are moving out tomorrow. Heading east."

Yuugao sighed in exasperation.

"You know that's not what I mean, Kushina-Sama. What's east anyway? Wave?"

"Yes, but that's only a stop on the way; we are heading out to sea."

Yuugao didn't bother trying to call her on ignoring the first part of her sentence. Baby steps.

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen was exhausted. Mentally and physically. He was meant to be retired, he was meant to be entering his golden years, he was meant to be re-establishing ties with Asuma. Then he had this 'Honour' trust upon him again, and he could feel it crushing him as he stared at his desk, head in hands.

"I can't be the same kind of Hokage I was before. I can't be the leader who always knows best, not anymore."

A snort of disgust made him realize he wasn't alone in the office. Snapping his head up, he spotted Tsunade closing the door behind her.

"If you can't even hear me opening a door anymore you should be in an old folks' home bouncing grandchildren on your knee with all the other Dotards."

Smiling thinly he gestured at a chair with his pipe, nodding as Tsunade took a seat.

"I would be careful with those insults Tsunade; despite that silly Genjutsu of yours you are already in the Autumn of your life. Where is little Shizune If I may ask?"

"Little? You really are a Dotard. She is sixteen, Old man."

"Hmph, she is little to me, Tsunade. And show some respect."

He reached for his pipe before it was snatched by Tsunade.

"Not in my presence, this stuff destroys lungs. It will be the death of you."

Tsunade's comment broke through Sarutobi's already frayed patience.

"Says the raging Alcoholic. How is your liver? Gone on vacation I presume?"

"Now you listen here old man! I came here to save the people too stupid to leave this shithole. I didn't come for you to throw my medical knowledge back in my face!"

Sarutobi sighed in annoyance. Mostly at himself. Here he was barely back in the chair and he was reduced to lashing out childishly at minor annoyances. He already regretted saying something so stupid.

"I am sorry Tsunade, but I am under a lot of pressure and your hatred is not helping."

Tsunade sneered in response.

"So you can't be the 'all knowing leader' anymore. So what? Play to your new strengths. Play up the doting Grandfather bit. You're certainly decrepit enough to pull it off."

Sarutobi once again sighed in annoyance. Time to cut to the heart of the issue.

"Once you're done in the hospital, I need you to look at Orochimaru."

"What's wrong with your favourite, old man?"

Sarutobi fixed on a concerned mask. Some of the information he was going to feed her would be lies, and she was always an expert at picking up on such things. It would help that it was mostly truth, and he was genuinely concerned.

"His mind. He's been becoming more and more eccentric, his experiments are becoming more and more dangerous, more and more fatal to his subjects. He has become obsessed and he is getting dangerously close to breaking the law, I hear he has been attempting to create bio weapons out of the creatures in the Forest of Death. But that's not all, recently his student, Anko, died.

Tsunade's expression was incredulous.

"MENTAL HEALTH?! Firstly, that Snake in the Grass bastard needs more than a quick look at his mind if he's been making monsters out of those freaks of nature in the Forest of Death! Secondly I'm a Doctor, not a Psychologist. Have a Yamanaka search the bastard's mind."

"I can't, they are more often seen as interrogators than psychologists, with the way things are going he might take it the wrong way. That can't be allowed to happen, besides, he trusts you."

Tsunade rose to her feet in a rage, slamming her palms down on the table.

"TRUSTS ME?! THAT HEARTLESS FUCK CAN BURN IN HELL FOR ALL I CARE!"

Sarutobi stood up, leaning forward, before staring her straight in the eyes. His voice was but a whisper, forcing Tsunade to pay attention.

"Despite what you want to believe you are better than this. You may hate Orochimaru all you like but you are a Shinobi of Konoha. I granted you leave to give you time to gather your thoughts and recover, but instead I see that you have chosen to wallow in your own hatred and despair. Now Orochimaru, your team-mate needs your help. If you turn your back on him when he needs your help all you will be doing is throwing everything Nawaki and Dan believed in away. Help him with his loss, and maybe you can help yourself."

Tsunade slumped in sorrow. Her voice cracked with emotion when she finally responded.

"Why do I have to be the bigger person?"

Sarutobi sat back down in his chair.

"Because it would make Dan and Nawaki proud."

Tsunade turned away abruptly, striding to the door.

"Fine. I'll do this. But afterward I am gone. And no-one you send will-"

**"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"**

"What in God's name?!"

An Anbu burst through the door with enough force to knock them off their hinges.

"HOKAGE-SAMA! THE FOREST OF DEATH IS ON FIRE! OROCHIMARU-SAMA HAS GONE BERSERK!"

* * *

Kushina carefully strapped Naruto to her back as she cursed her lack of ability with seals. That small scribble of Jiraiya's had been more than useful, and she was going to regret not having it for the rest of this supposed jaunt. Babies don't know the meaning of stealth after all.

With a sigh, she rolled up the map on the table Tenzo had helpfully replaced the broken one with, along with the newly made door. A hole in the table would have tipped off any Konoha nin that someone had been there. Needless to say they didn't need any kind of attention right now.

She quickly went through a mental checklist of all the minutiae needed to make sure that they were ready and anyone who looked would never know they had been here. Now she just had to make sure everyone was ready.

Walking over to the door she brought her hand up to handle before pausing for a moment. A feeling of nervousness she hadn't accounted for was overcoming her. She found herself staring into the distance, her eyes becoming unfocused as she broke into a sweat.

She briefly entertained the fact that Yuugao was right, she had isolated herself and now she was paying the consequences. Her heart rate accelerated painfully as she realized that this room had served as a sanctuary where she had been able to focus on making plans and shutting out everything else. While shutting out everything that had happened.

Her eyes were burning.

Her chest hurt.

She couldn't breathe.

The world was pressing down on her.

She wasn't, couldn't be ready for this.

Once this door opened she had to face the truth again. Minato was gone, Konoha wasn't her home anymore. She didn't know if her friends back there were alive or dead. And she was taking Naruto on an insane mission to rebuild Uzu from the ashes of the Mizukage's insanity.

She stood there for a moment as her bottom lip quivered, and instead of opening the brand new door she simply walked through it. Fragments of wood exploded outwards with a tumultuous crack, fragments crunching underfoot as she walked down the hall, Naruto giggled on her back.

* * *

Tenzo waited silently off to the side as the rest of the six interacted quietly in their own little groupings, Anko and Ibiki flirting playfully with one another, Yuugao humming to herself while smiling at Genma and Hayate who were apparently discussing the finer points of dance moves. Hayate briefly breaking into a very ridged stance as he made precisely calculated movements with his waist, arms and head, Genma almost instantly seized Hayate's forearms, blushing madly and telling him to stop "for the love of all the Gods!"

Tenzo felt a brief…something, stir in his chest as he saw this interaction. He was ten years old and already an Anbu, albeit as a Chuunin.

Many civilians in Konoha saw the Anbu as some kind of Elite, where only the best of the best gained access to. That was, for lack of a better term, complete bullshit. Anbu was for two kinds of people. Those who were unwanted, and those who only desired death.

He himself did not desire death. As such this situation had him terrified. Here he was, out in the sticks with a group of people he didn't know, a mentally unbalanced leader, and the Kyuubi. He wasn't stupid. He knew the baby wasn't the Kyuubi, but damn it. The Goddamned Kyuubi, destroyer of mountains, eraser of civilisations, was in a week old baby inside a building not a hundred feet away. Was it not entirely reasonable to be crapping bricks?

Sighing to himself he forced his thoughts back to their original path, the fact that he didn't know how to act around these people. Anko and Ibiki were playful, Yuugao was high strung, Genma was snarky, Kushina was insane and Hayate, well, Hayate was freaky.

Coughing one second, break dancing the next, literally break dancing, he was spinning on his head for the love…

He sighed before rubbing his eyes. Sleep deprivation was really getting to him. Damn worrying about the Kyuubi, and his insane boss, and the weirdos he doesn't know how to relate to. Why couldn't they all have been Anbu, faceless, waiting for death and not having to worry about anything except your next pointless suicide mission?

'Here comes Kushina-Sama…. Wait, is her nose bleeding?'

* * *

Kushina walked out into the sunlight while holding a tissue up to her nose to soak up the blood of her rather ill thought out action. Still, her bout of fear was as shattered as the door she left in her path.

'Door didn't know what hit it. Heh, still got it…is Hayate break dancing?'

Shrugging mentally she slapped on an obviously fake reassuring smile as everyone in the clearing snapped to attention.

"Briefing time everyone, we are going to Wave, followed by a boat trip out to the Akumu Islands, where we will find the Akumu clan, questions?"

"Ahem."

"Yes Ibiki-san?"

"Who are the Akumu?"

Kushina's face split into a smug grin. At least the kid knew how to play along.

"Your worst Nightmare."

Suffice to say nobody liked the sound of that.

* * *

Travelling through Fire country, Ibiki couldn't help going over and over the Information the group had been given after Kushina-Sama had her cheap laugh with the pun. Overall, his first impression was that this was a 'Bad Idea', with a side helping of 'Oh Fuck, What Are We Doing?'

_"The Akumu Clan used to be an Uzu clan, but they were convinced to leave by my Father rather than kill the leader of Uzu. They hated the leader at the time, and you don't know fear until you are hated by the Akumu. If they hadn't left it would have caused a Civil war, but my Father was next in line for leadership, and he promised them a place when he took over. Unfortunately, that never happened because of _Mizu_."_

_She spat at the name, her hatred of the Third Mizukage was well known. The man had destroyed her home after all._

_"They are split into two families, Main and Branch, depending on how their bloodline limit manifests."_

_"Bloodline Limit?" Anko asked curiously, not surprising considering her teachers interest in biology._

_"Yes, the Nenten. It is called such because of its…drawbacks. Branch members can use no outer manifestations of Chakra. They can only augment their own abilities. Another problem is every single member of the Akumu clan is completely and irrevocably insane. And it's even worse for the Branch members, as not only are their minds twisted, but their bodies are too. They are monsters."_

_"Monsters?"_

_"Well, monsters insofar as they are not human. You see, Ibiki, the Twisting manifests in every member of the clan at the age of three, at that point they are already insane from living with their clan, but at the exact moment of manifestation their mind truly shatters. At that very second their chakra twists inside of them, mutating their body, and they have to guide it. If they can control it they become Main family, if they can't they become Branch Family. That is also the reason Branch Family members can't use outer manifestations of Chakra, their Coils twist in such a way that they have no tenketsu."_

_"So, what are the Benefits?"_

_"It depends on the branch. One thing is consistent between both branches, their spinal protrusions. Fully articulated extra limbs, more flexible than a snake, and potentially far more deadly, some members have spikes, some have blades, some have simple clubs, hell, some of them are indistinguishable from a tentacle, which funnily enough seems to have caused equal amounts of repulsion and…attraction from outsiders. At least, that is until they see the poisoned barbs the Tentacles are filled with. Then it becomes mainly repulsion with a small group of really freaky weirdoes still in the attracted camp."_

_The younger members of the group giggled at that, causing the older members to start rolling their eyes._

_"It apparently varies due to a number of factors but I couldn't tell you. One thing is certain though, getting caught by any variation of them is… inadvisable."_

_"How many do they have?"_

_"It varies, branch members tend to have more, but branch members also tend to be huge when fully grown anyway, between six and eleven feet tall for females and seven to fifteen foot tall for males so they have more room."_

_Everyone stared at her incredulously after that little tidbit._

_After a few seconds Kushina cleared her throat loudly to garner the group's attention, Tenzo fielded the next question. "What other effects?"_

_"Let's see, their organs generally aren't the same as humans, almost all physiology lessons you have don't apply to them except for things like basic functions. And that goes double for the Branch. Genjutsu that rely on pain, discomfort or emotions either won't work or will have reduced effect, mainly because they don't think or feel like normal humans. Also, here is one thing you must always realize with them, they may seem odd, or quirky, or even just creepy but they are always, always dangerous. For one they do not possess a normal moral compass, they literally think nothing of inflicting death on people they don't know who might pose a threat to their current objectives. Regardless of age or gender. And they will usually only pause for a second to warn people they do know._

_In a way the branch family is even worse in this regard. Let's say, for instance, a normal person came across a brutalized child or woman, they would feel outrage and possibly kill the perpetrator or alert the authorities. A Main Family member of the Akumu who tended towards the good side of their particular moral compass would feel mild disgust and either ignore it if the perpetrator was useful or just kill them outright. A Branch Family member, unless they were close to the child, would feel nothing."_

_Surprisingly, Hayate was the first to speak up after this. His speech interspersed with his mildly annoying coughing._

_"So, _(cough), _In short we are going to an island,_ (cough),_ which is completely populated by insane sociopathic demons, some of which are well over twice the size of a human. _(cough)._"_

_Kushina put on a nasty smirk._

_"Yep."_

"(Cough)_So, why is this a good plan again?"_

Ibiki couldn't agree more.

_"It's not, but it's the best plan we have right now, after all, they need to breed and most people either tend to avoid them or die shortly after they are captured. They would love to be in a legitimate Ninja village."_

_Tenzo spoke, a quaver in his voice._

_"Did you say Breed? Wait! Did you say die?!"_

Sighing, Ibiki allowed a small smirk to cross his face at the memory of all the kids suddenly going pale and sweaty. Unlike them he had some knowledge of the Akumu due to his rank and the urban legend of the Akumu, ahem, "intercoursing" people to death was always brought up to scare genin when they were mentioned. It was practically tradition in every Ninja village. He doubted it was true but he knew every story had a kernel of truth to it; they might have done in ages past. Who knows.

What he found truly interesting though was the info Kushina-Sama had given the group, which allowed him to draw some conclusions.

First, he considered the branch family, as more info was available on them. They are (supposedly) big. They are (allegedly) Taijutsu powerhouses, and they are (said to be) immune or resistant to the major branches of Genjutsu. They (apparently) cannot use Jutsu outside of their body as their Chakra coils would not allow it. But that means a closed circuit chakra system with a core that generates chakra constantly, which would lead to the supposition of more pressure, which means any strengthening done on the body would be more effective than on a normal person, if true it would also means that unless they had come up with some other way to do so, they couldn't walk on walls or water.

So, judging from the as-yet-unconfirmed information he had been given, engaging them in Taijutsu would be suicide unless you were a Master, or an Akamichi trying to get to an all-you-can-eat buffet which was being hogged by said unfortunate Akumu. Genjutsu would be less effective, so that leaves Traps, Ninjutsu and Ninja tools. Knowing his luck they probably wore armour as well which would reduce the effectiveness of Tools and Ninjutsu.

Fortunately they were said to be big, which means you probably know when they are coming. Hopefully.

Oddly enough, Ibiki could only really see them useful in two diametrically opposed positions, Guards, and Super heavy assault units, both of these were helped by their seemingly sociopathic tendencies towards people they don't know. As guards they would instantly notice people they don't know which would help them to keep an eye on the outsider, as Super Heavy assault Units they wouldn't have the same moral dilemma good sane people have about the death of innocents that get in the way.

The Main Family was another story. Judging from Kushina-Sama's lack of comment about their height it could be assumed that their range of heights were normal. They also apparently had access to Ninjutsu at the cost of their sibling families Taijutsu, yet still retained a large degree of natural close combat lethality. They were also insane, but something Kushina-Sama said was still niggling at the back of his mind…

Ah! The offhand comment about them not killing people who were useful, that probably meant they were manipulative and kept an eye to the bigger picture and the long game. It would be best not to assume anything, though.

"Thinking hard, or are you just constipated, Ibiki?"

Ibiki started, which was bad considering he was tree hopping, but his experience managed to save him from an embarrassing encounter starring his face and the ground.

"Sorry to disappoint, Anko, but I get plenty of fiber in my diet."

He waited a moment for her small grin to die down.

"No, I was just thinking about the possible abilities and weaknesses of the Akumu."

"And?"

"I'd tell you, but then you'd start assuming and die."

"Pfft, would not."

"Yes you would, you are far too caught up in treating what the people you trust say as some kind of divine word of God. If you think about it and come back to me I'll fill you in on what I think, but I want you to start thinking objectively too."

"Wow, when did you have time to get that metal pole inserted?"

"Anko…"

The teenager responded by sticking out her tongue and hopping ahead.

The things Ibiki does for his friend.

* * *

As time passed in the monotonously boring fashion that was solely reserved for tree hopping, almost everyone began to mentally beg for some kind of interruption. One member of the group just happened to be extraordinarily vocal in his displeasure.

The group was abruptly jolted out of its boredom as its youngest member started wailing. Kushina, quick as lightning, dropped to the forest floor, and with the precision of a surgeon, removed him from his bundle before cleaning and changing his diaper in a matter of seconds. She paused just long enough to tickle him under the chin before strapping Naruto to her back once more and settling into the steady rhythm of tree hopping again.

After a few seconds Genma clicked his fingers, a look of sudden realization crossing his features.

"That's what's weird! He never cries, I was wondering why I felt like I was missing something! My baby brother is always cry..." A pained look suddenly crossed his features before his voice suddenly gained a bitter hint. "Well…he always used to cry before I came out here. I don't know if he still cries now."

An uneasy silence suddenly descended upon the group. No-one spoke until they reached the ferry to Wave.


End file.
